Different Epiphany's
by Delenn
Summary: And so the moon shall have an epiphany, a different epiphany, and she shall destroy through the night, making the world her own. So, when the sun does rise, is it too late? For the whirlwind has already passed, during the night…D/Aus
1. Part 1

**Disclaimer: All characters from 'Angel: The Series' and 'Buffy: The Vampire Slayer' don't belong to me, they belong to whoever created/wrote/owns them. And yes, I am too lazy to look up the names of the people who own them, but I can guarantee it's not me. So, don't sue me please!!! The story idea is mine though, so let's not use it without asking, m'kay?   
  
Author's Notes: Hey everyone! This is just a little Darla/Angelus story that's been wreaking havoc in my head for a while, so I decided to write it already! I have written about three other Angel/Darla stories, and I have extensive writing in the Ares/Xena realm of the show 'Xena: Warrior Princess' and both their screwed up relationships are perfect for me! ((I'm a 'violent' romantic!))   
  
Story Notes: This story is all nice an AU, totally removing Connor from the picture, and removing the whole Angel didn't lose his soul trip, cause, c'mon! Like Darla said, that was perfect. ;)   
  
Spoilers: Up to 'Epiphany' and 'Reprise.'   
  
Summary: And so the moon shall have an epiphany, a different epiphany, and she shall destroy through the night, making the world her own. So, when the sun does rise, is it too late? For the whirlwind has already passed, during the night…   
  
Feedback: Yes! Feed the author, please! Critique/Comments/Enjoyment is greatly appreciated, honestly, just drop me a line! Goddess_Delenn@yahoo.com   
  
Distribution: Aria can have it! Everyone else has to ask, all you have to do is click the above link and tell me you want it, I guarantee I'll say yes, you just have to ask first!   
  
Songs For This Fiction: 'Seven Days', by Craig David. Why? Cause, I've been listening to Craig David since Christmas, he ROCKS man! And cause a LOT can happen in seven days. And cause this Eve song fits well, don't you think?   
  
"Met this girl on monday… took her for a drink on tuesday… we were making love on wednesday, and thursday, and friday and saturday…. We chilled on sunday." from 'Seven Days' by Craig David.   
  
"You had me, you lost me, and now you want me back. You fucked around and played around, and now you're feeling sad!?" from 'You Had Me, You Lost Me', by Eve.   
  
Warnings: Sex: Yes. Violence: Yes. Language: Yes. Absolutely nothing worse then the show though, promise! Well not too much worse anyway ;)   
  
Pairing: Darla/Angelus   
  
Rating: R. 'Cause, well, this is Angelus and Darla, what do you expect from them!?   
  
Date Started: December 22nd, 2001. Date Finished: January 19th, 2003.**   
  


* * *

  
  


Different Epiphany's  
By ~Delenn~

  
  
  
  
Darla donned a slinky red dress, and brushed her hair thoroughly. Slipping into her shoes, she grabbed the textbooks and hurried out into the night. She was - admittedly - a little nervous about being back in L.A, Darla had very little doubt that Angel would deliver on his promise, something in his eyes had been so reminiscent of her darling boy.  
However, the computer hacker course had sounded so very promising, there were so many people that she wanted to pay. The only obstacle she had so far encountered, were the rejects sharing the class with her, one - in particular - had been giving her blatantly lustful looks, and it was time she put a stop to it.   
  
Darla took the gang short cut; she wanted to relieve some stress. The tough men noticed her immediately; after all it wasn't everyday a young woman on her way to class made the mistake of walking into gang territory. Several called out to her "Hey baby, where you going?"   
  
Another demanded, "Why don't you stay for awhile…" his meaning obvious.   
  
When she continued to ignore them and keep walking one yelled, "Yo, baby, you can't be teasing us men like that."   
  
Darla stopped and set down her books, before turning to the men and asking in the breathy voice that had become her trademark over the centuries "Who said anything about teasing?"   
  
At the encouragement of his friends one of the men walked up to her. She watched him move with interest, yes, this one fancied himself a predator. "Its not safe for a girl to be out at night." His threat was clearly stated.   
  
Darla nodded calmly; well aware that it was she - not the big gangs - who ruled the night. He moved to force her head up and Darla struck out, using her inhuman strength and speed to grab the man's arm and twist him around before roughly tossing him across the street. Her hair blew around her face from the quick movement, and Darla made a half-hearted attempt to fix it. "You boys would do well to remember there's a lot more dangerous things in the night then gangs."   
  
The other men stood back, not wanting to abandon their friend, but not particularly anxious to meet with Darla. Finally another one asked, "How many of us could you take down at once, lady?"   
  
The others nodded their heads in agreement, obviously planning to rush her, but none wanting to go first. Darla shook out her hair in amusement "Probably your entire fucking gender with my bare hands. Now, I suggest you run, before I 'm finished with that idiot over there."   
  
Darla slipped into game-face and took a moment to watch the gang scatter - muttering a mix of prayers and curses - before she stalked over to the leader. Darla let him take a good look at her before she bit him, she loved how fear tasted in their blood. When Darla was done she stood up and wiped off her mouth, before picking up her books and continuing on her way… one less gang who would try to take her on.   
  


.-~*~-.

  
  
Angelus walked through the night with purpose. It had taken awhile for people to realize that he was back, but once they had… well, they had quickly given him all the information that he requested…. Darla was back; his contacts said that for the past few months she'd been attending a night computer hacker course in the worst section of LA. It was so obvious, she'd steadily left a trail of strong gang men, he smiled to himself; Darla always had loved hunting the 'predators'.   
  
He remembered his performance with a sort of morbid joy; Darla had been so expectant, so sure that she had done it, released him. However, Angelus had not been ready to enlighten her of the success of her plan yet, she had mistaken Angel for him, after all. So when Angel had stopped struggling and he had been captured, Angelus had gotten up and clearly told Darla that her plan had failed, and she better not try it again.   
  
And now, now it was time to bring Darla up to date. Angelus was more then ready to reclaim his prize, _his sire_, so he stalked off to find her.   
  


.-~*~-.

  
  
Darla sat silently in the class, anger ebbing at her; that pathetic excuse for a human male thought he could stare at her all the time and get away with it?! She was over four hundred, one of the most feared vampires in history… this would end - NOW.  
She was just about to turn and kill the whole class - if necessary - no matter how full she was, when a familiar warmth spread throughout her entire being… Only one person could do that to her. Darla turned, eyes expectant, her darling boy was here, his imposing figure leaning casually against the doorframe. Dressed in all black, he eyed her up and down, his look alone almost enough to light her on fire.   
  
The teacher turned to the stranger and asked, fear and annoyance creeping into his voice. If this was a cop, he was done for; if not then the man should leave. That simple, "Can I help you?"   
  
Angelus continued to gaze deliberately at Darla… modern clothes accented her lithe figure beautifully, and her lips were tinged red; she'd fed recently. He noticed her anger, and quickly assessed that it wasn't directed at him. Angelus spotted the man seated across from Darla, staring lustfully at her. He suppressed a growl; nobody looked at Darla like that and lived to tell the tale. "No."   
  
The teacher sighed, this one was just an annoyance, pushing up his glasses and directing the class back to the computer screen with a wave of his mouse. All the big gangsters around thought they could just push anybody and everybody around. Following the strangers gaze, Mr. Brown noticed Darla fidgeting uncomfortably in her seat. She was one of his more elusive students, probably the large males girlfriend; that was usually the case. "Then perhaps you should leave."   
  
Angelus spared a glance at the humans in the room, pathetic really. "I'll wait." He didn't really care if the teacher knew what he was waiting for, he could see Darla squirming under his gaze, and thoughts of why were rapidly going through his head.   
  
Darla opened a new window on the computer and typed quickly, before turning the screen slightly. His staring was fast becoming an inconvenience, now she would have to deal with the other man later. Raising her arm, so that her dress slid down her full breast slightly, Darla asked with false sweetness. "Mr. Brown, would you mind if I stayed after class to finish up some work?"   
  
Angelus read Darla's screen with displeasure, she wasn't going to make this easy by a long shot. 'Go fuck your precious cheerleader, and stay the hell away from me.' was written in large colorful font on Darla's screen. Darla wasn't colorful.   
  
Mr. Brown looked quickly between Darla and the man by the door. It wasn't any of his business that he knew, but he sure wasn't going to deny her a chance to avoid the man if she so chose. "Of course, Darla, that would be fine. All right then, time's up, class. Would everyone who's not staying after class please be excused and read chapters 90-95 in '**A Complete Guide To Hacking**'."   
  
Angelus stepped back as a flood of people passed through the doorway. There were only two other people staying, an annoyance, but not that bad. Trying to sound casual Angelus asked the teacher "Would it be all right if I looked around? I hear that this course will be starting again soon."   
  
Mr. Brown reluctantly agreed. After all, who knew, maybe the guy just liked to look at pretty women. And Darla was by far the prettiest in the class. Besides, he couldn't very well deny the guy entrance, if word got around about this class he was done for. "Uh, yeah, come on in. Course schedules are on the wall to the left. I ask, however, that you not bother any of our students still working here."   
  
Angelus nodded and entered, however he headed straight to Darla's desk, without the slightest hint of it being an accident. He squatted down next to her seat quicker then a human could and whispered in her ear, "Hello, darlin', miss me?"   
  
Darla hissed with annoyance, "Can't you read, Angel?" flatly refusing to look at him.   
  
Angelus tried to resist the temptation of her soft neck… Darla was still touchy and the last thing he wanted right now was his sire angry with him. "Angel isn't here, luv, you got rid of him…"   
  
Mr. Brown turned back from his computer and noticed the stranger harassing Darla. "Excuse me, sir, would you mind chatting up my student another time?"   
  
The rest of the humans barely bothered to suppress their laughter, in wonder of what the man would do. Angelus growled and sprang up, heading towards the teacher, with the sole intent of showing who was boss, when a cold hand on his arm stopped him. "Its ok, Mr. Brown, Angel is a… friend… of mine."   
  
Angelus turned, his eyes voicing his question for him, _Angel_; did she still not believe him?   
  
Darla shrugged; she removed her hand from his arm and whispered, so that the humans couldn't hear. "Don't patronize me, precious…"   
  
Angelus sighed, and got back down, prepared to beg if necessary. "Darla, I'm not playing with you."   
  
Darla merely looked back to the computer, and hissed, her anger clear. "If you are here to kill me, then you are welcome to try. But don't think that I will believe a word about you being Angelus!"   
  
Angelus stared up at his gorgeous sire for a moment, wondering what it would take to make her believe the truth. Finally he stood, deciding on a course of action, and hauled her up with him. Before she could throw him, or even protest, Angelus tilted her head and bit down on her soft neck, drinking heavily.   
  
Darla gasped in surprise, wrapping her arms tightly around Angelus', not at all concerned about the people around. She could feel herself floating away; Angelus always had that affect on her, when she had allowed him to drink her blood. It took Darla a few moments to regain her strength enough to push Angelus away. Her eyes widened as she looked at her childe licking her blood off of his lips. She carefully ran a finger along the bite-marks already disappearing on her neck, Angel would have been scared to do something so reminiscent of her darling boy, so then it had to be… "Angelus!" She would be mad about him drinking from her without permission later.   
  
Angelus barely spared a glance at the humans cowering in the room; nothing mattered but his sire. "What do you say we go someplace more… _private_, darlin?"   
  
Darla smiled delicately and stood on her tiptoes in order to wrap her arms around Angelus' neck, allowing him to lift her into his arms and spin her around a moment, before she was set back down. "Yes, my precious, let's."   
  
After taking a moment to admire Darla's new dress, Angelus quickly remembered the humans in the room. He took a few rapid strides towards the teacher and snapped his neck, before proceeding to do the same to the remaining students. "Did you have anywhere in mind, sire?"   
  
Darla almost laughed out loud at her childes submissive statement, she well knew otherwise. "Mmm… we could find that bastard who sat next to me and have a nice hunt…"   
  
Angelus laughed as he looked down at his beguiling sire, slipping a little of his native accent. "But o' course, me darlin'!" and took Darla's hand, slowing his normal gait to accommodate her high heeled shoes as they strode out of the building.   
  


.-~*~-.

  
  
Cordelia looked around nervously as her friends filed into her apartment. "Hi, guys… uh, sit down?"   
  
Gunn nodded and plopped down on the couch, "What's up Cordy?"   
  
Wesley sat down calmly and silently wondered why she had called them there. Cordelia folded her hands over her lap and started somewhat uncertainly. "We have to talk about Angel."   
  
Gunn asked without concern, "What's to talk about? He fired us!"   
  
"He's gone mad, Cordelia." Wesley's response was of wavering calm, trying not to let on to his hurt.   
  
Cordelia sighed, "That's exactly the point! This is Angel we're talking about! We can't just leave him to go insane!"   
  
Wesley wished he had his books with him as he pulled something up from memory. "Vampires go insane sometimes, it has happened. There never is much help for it."   
  
"Look," Gunn said briskly, "as far as I'm concerned, this thing with Darla has been a long time coming."   
  
Cordelia asked irritably, "And we're supposed to just let him go through this alone?"   
  
Wesley spoke quietly; aware that Cordelia's anger might come down upon himself. "I would hardly think you would be so willing to go through this with him again."   
  
"I-I-I don't…" she sighed again, almost to the point of wringing her hands, "it's just, he was our friend! I mean, despite everything, we can't just turn our backs on our friend."   
  
Gunn shrugged, he was decidedly unconvinced. "He turned his back on us."   
  
Wesley nodded, "While I understand that his bond to his sire is strong, Angel has gone too far with this."   
  
Gunn added, "After all, he did kill her once already."   
  
Cordelia nodded, remembering how much his actions had hurt her. "Well, then we owe it to ourselves to find out what is wrong. Or, at the very least we have to know what we are dealing with."   
  
Wesley still spoke quietly, "You mean the rumors that Angelus has found a way to come back?"   
  
"I don't want to believe them… I don't believe them. But, no matter how hurt _all_ of us are, shouldn't we at least find out…"   
  
Wesley nodded slowly and stood up, "One way or another."   
  
Gunn hopped up unhappily, though energetically. "I'll go get the crossbow and stakes."   
  
Cordelia jumped out of her seat. "Wait! We don't know that it's Angelus… Can we not assume the worst, please?"   
  
Gunn asked, "You're saying that Angel treating us all like shit, despite his soul, is better then Angelus treating us like shit because he's a demon?"   
  
Cordelia crumpled back into her seat. "Guys, can we just talk this out a little longer?"   
  


.-~*~-.

  
  
Chester Williams walked through the grungy neighborhood that he lived in and patted the coat pocket that held his gun. No way he was going to be caught unprepared in this section of town. The scruff of well-disguised feet upon pavement quickly alerted Chester to the presence of another. He mostly ignored it, probably someone else headed home. He began to hum a Rob Zombie song that he liked. "_Crawl on me,  
Sink into me,  
Die for me,  
Living dead girl…   
  
…So beautiful, they make you kill…   
  
Dripping with sin, do it again…   
  
Living dead girl._"   
  
It took him awhile to notice that the muffled footsteps were still behind him, and had been for the last ten minutes. A distinctly feminine voice spoke, "Great song,"   
  
Chester spun around to find the hot blonde from his computer class standing behind him, clutching her study books and without any sort of shawl or wrap on, despite the slightly chilly weather. "I thought you stayed late. What are you doing here?"   
  
Darla grinned, replaying the song lyrics in her head, they had a nice ring to them… maybe a vampire had written it? You never could tell with these new heavy metal artists. "I did get out late. I confess, I asked about you."   
  
Chester made a mental note to kill his friend Dave, and asked carefully, "Why'd you do that?"   
  
Darla's smile grew, "I'm having trouble with one of my assignments, and I was wondering if maybe you'd like to help me with it?"   
  
Chester stepped forward and a leering grin took over his previously cautious features. "What about your boyfriend?"   
  
Darla laughed lightly, "Who, that man at the class? I've never met him before. He left almost immediately after you did. Jerk."   
  
The little 'jerk' was so convincing that Chester raised an eyebrow; he could see that, oh, for sure. "You wanna come to my place, or just stand around?"   
  
Darla once again graced the foolish mortal with her laughter, and turned her back on him, striding back towards the hotel. "How about my place? It's late. There's plenty of room… if you want to stay the night…" She trailed off as she swung her hips and strode away from the man.   
  
Chester grinned from ear to ear and hurriedly followed the enticing young blonde.   
  
A shadow in a dark corner growled warningly to the now empty street. "What game are you playing now, Darla?"   
  


.-~*~-.

  
  
Cordelia was almost dozing in her seat. "Look, guys, I don't know about you, but I'm tired, and definitely not up to talking sense into Angel."   
  
Gunn stifled a yawn from his place sprawled on the couch, "Cordy's right, we can catch him off guard if it's daylight out."   
  
Cordelia half argued, "That wasn't my point!"   
  
Wesley stood up and broke off their impending argument for the time being. "You both have good points. Let's go, Gunn."   
  
Cordelia asked, "So you'll be sure to call me when you guys get up?"   
  
Gunn smiled through yawning again. "See you at noon!"   
  
Wesley reasoned, "Isn't that a little late?"   
  
"Nope." Gunn shrugged as he walked out of the apartment. "Perfect time, sun's at its worst."   
  
Cordelia just put her hands up in annoyance; she was too tired to fight. "Just remember, Gunn, we don't know the situation yet!"   
  
"Good night, Cordy." Was her reply from both men as they exited.   
  
Cordelia quickly tidied up and got ready for bed, already knowing that she wasn't going to get much sleep. And with her luck, there'd be a vision! '_Oh, I hope not_,' Cordy sighed, '_I don't need to know what Angel's up to_!'   
  


.-~*~-.

  
  
Darla entered the unlocked hotel happily, Angelus was already there, and she was glad that he had left the door open for her. Chester was following along like all good puppies should. She giggled at the thought.   
  
Puppies were cute, sure, but eventually they grew up to be _dogs_. And dogs had to be trained. She would give this puppy his first taste of the leash… _or in this case whip_.   
  
Content with her musings Darla turned to Chester and smiled, "Here we are. Why don't you come in?"   
  
Chester nodded enthusiastically and stepped inside the old hotel; the same stupid and lustful expression never leaving his face. "So, Darla, what did you need me for again?"   
  
"Someone to torture," a deep male voice replied.   
  
Chester wheeled around in time to see Angelus emerge from the shadows. He angrily looked towards the pretty blonde. "I thought you said you didn't know him!" His outrage was so instantaneous that he forgot the threat.   
  
Darla shrugged her pale shoulders unconcernedly. "I lied."   
  
The previous statement came back to Chester, but not before Angelus had firmly grabbed him by the arms and pinned him against the wall. "Darla _is_ **mine**!"   
  
Darla dropped her books without a second thought and strode up to the two males. She gently placed her hand on Angelus' arm. "My darling, shouldn't we play someplace more… appropriate?"   
  
Angelus nodded and dropped Chester, dragging him by his hair to a room in which he had set up his chest. "Well, Darla, what do you think?"   
  
Chester thrashed and screamed in the vampire's impossible grip. What the hell was going on here? Who were these psychos and what did they want with _him_? "Let fuckin' go a' me!"   
  
Darla ignored Chester's protests for the moment, and took a minute to survey the chests contents, "Oh, this is much, much better!"   
  
Satisfied that all her favorite toys were still there, Darla strode back to Chester, who Angelus had hauled up again, and freed him from her lovers grasp. She pushed him away from Angelus and asked quietly, as though she was nervous and concerned. "Are you okay?"   
  
Chester watched the other man with worry, but his attention kept being sidetracked to the woman brushing against him. "Wh-what the hell is going on?" he gasped in shock as he felt her soft hands interlace his own, rougher, ones. "What is this, some kind of sick game?"   
  
He felt his body relaxing against hers, and then her grip on his hands turned into an iron vice as she forced his wrists into hanging chains. He thrashed, but to no avail, it might as well have been a god's grip! Her face hard, and her voice colder, "That's exactly what this is, a game; well, for us. I don't think you will find our entertainment all that amusing."   
  
Angelus watched, both angry and amused at Darla's antics, as she released Chester's hands and he hung suspended in the chains. Pleased with her handiwork, she came back and leaned into his embrace. He surveyed the chest with glee as Chester continued to curse and threaten and scream. Gently, Angelus removed his sire from his arms and picked up his toy of choice for the moment, it had been so long since he had tortured anyone properly. That watcher hadn't received anywhere near what he was capable of. "That's right, Chester, scream for me."   
  
And as the whip hit his stomach, Chester really did scream, again and again as the whip cracked down on his body. And Darla laughed; _she laughed and urged her childe along_.   
  


.-~*~-.

  
  



	2. Part 2

_See disclaimer in the first part!_   
  


.-~*~-.

  
  
Cordelia woke in the middle of the night to a nightmare… '_Or vision_,' she thought warily. The dream was puzzling though, she couldn't see clearly.   
  
'_That would be from the pounding headache_,' she noted, and groped in her nightstand drawer for aspirin. She took an aspirin, followed by a sip of water from the glass that was now always by her bed.   
  
After tossing and turning for a few minutes, Cordelia quickly surmised that she wasn't going to be able to sleep until she sorted out her nightmare. Slowly she got out of bed and put on her robe before heading towards the kitchen and sitting down. She could see better in the kitchen, and get more water if it was required.   
  
Satisfied that her headache would soon be receding, Cordelia set to the task of remembering her nightmare. But the words being spoken were indistinct, and the people who were speaking remained steadily blurry. Cordy rubbed her temples, and this time she was able to see the surroundings. "The Hyperion was in my dream?" Cordelia jumped at the sound of her own voice.   
  
"Now I'm scaring myself!" she shook her head sadly and looked at her clock. It read four am. "Having a nightmare and trying to convince myself it's a vision. That's it, I've officially been dealing with the powers too long!"   
  
Slowly, because of the sill present headache, Cordy made her way back to bed and tried unsuccessfully to get back to sleep. '_It was just a nightmare_.'   
  


.-~*~-.

  
  
Darla pushed herself into a sitting position on the bed and looked around; her lover was nowhere in sight. She got out of bed and wondered back to the playroom, "Angelus?"   
  
Then she saw him, seated on a couch, brooding. It was a horrible habit that the soul had really become fond of, much more so then Angelus ever had. And it was so annoyingly hard to snap him out of it once he was set into brooding! "Precious, come back to bed."   
  
Angelus jerked out of his thoughts and looked up at his sire. "I've been trying to decide how to kill the Slayer."   
  
Darla smiled and came to sit down next to her childe, "And what have you come up with?"   
  
Angelus pounded his fist so hard on the table that it snapped. "Damn it!"   
  
Darla snuggled closer to Angelus, hoping that her presence would calm him slightly. "There are lots of ways to kill a Slayer, you know that."   
  
"Darla," he began, noting her lack of attire with a raised eyebrow, "nothing I can think of will cause her enough pain. I've spent the last three years planning her torture and death, and yet I still can't come up with something worth what her and the soul did to us!"   
  
Darla sighed and stoked Angelus' hair lightly. "There are many people to kill before we have to go after the Slayer, precious. Together we'll think of something. Come back to bed."   
  
Angelus stayed silent for a moment; he could still remember when the soul killed her, while he screamed in his cage, unable to do anything. Finally, he looked back to Darla and grinned, knowing how his brooding always irritated her. "Is that an order darlin?"   
  
Darla growled at his joking manor, "Damn right it is, my boy."   
  
Angelus wrapped his arms around his sire's waist and held her as firmly as he dared, Darla was still his sire after all, and if pushed she did assert her dominance in most unappealing ways. "Make me."   
  
Darla escaped his vice-like grip with little trouble and rose to her feet. Angelus caught a muttered "_Insolent childe!_" before she had grabbed his hand and hauled him to his feet, dragging him towards the bedroom.   
  
Angelus put up a little fight, but he knew from long experience that nothing would deter Darla, and the more he pressed the more he was punished. Of course, she wasn't as strong now as before. '_No matter,_' Angelus thought '_She would be angry if I affirmed that I'm stronger then her._' Having decided to go along and prove his strength in bed rather then in battle, Angelus was hardly surprised when she tossed him on said bed and announced with a raised eyebrow, crawling after him. "You are wearing far too much clothing."   
  
He captured her hands before she could rip his favorite shirt and took it off himself, "I agree, darlin."   
  
Darla let out a little gasp of surprise when he flipped her over and pinned her on the bed. "Bastard!" she hissed, but her anger was short lived as his mouth captured hers.   
  


.-~*~-.

  
  
Gunn entered the hotel first, the stark contrast from the bright outdoors and the gloomy building causing him to blink. Next came Cordy and Wesley, more on the side of talking things out with Angel, and less on the shoot Angelus side. Gunn looked around, expectant of an attack. "Where do we start?"   
  
Wesley stated matter-of-factly, "The bedroom."   
  
Gunn simply raised an eyebrow. Cordy hastily explained, "Cause, it's like daytime, and that's when vampires sleep… right? Wesley?"   
  
Wesley was startled out of his examination of the extremely dark room by her voice. "What? Oh, yes, of course!"   
  
The three cautiously made their way throughout the building. Cordy took extra pain in finding that all the things she had done to brighten the place up had been torn down. "He wouldn't be expecting us, right?"   
  
Gunn shrugged as best he could while holding the crossbow. "He won't be expecting this, for sure."   
  
Cordy hissed unhappily, "You don't even know that we are dealing with Angelus, Gunn!"   
  
Gunn sighed, "Look, if he's nice, then I won't shoot him. Okay?"   
  
Wesley stopped abruptly in his tracks, causing the others, to stop also. "Uh, guys…"   
  
Cordy and Gunn turned back to Wesley and looked past him, into the living room. The furniture had been tossed aside, tables smashed, and in its place was a large chest, its contents spilling out over the floor. Shackles, whips, chains and knives were just some of the things tossed out of the chest. Cordy looked farther into the shadows of the room and gasped, was that blood she saw on the walls?! Gunn said, no trace of humor in his voice. "**Now**, can we talk about shooting on site?"   
  
Cordy turned away from the scene, grabbing Wesley by his arm and determinedly striding towards Angel's room. "No. Not until we know what's going on."   
  
Gunn simply shrugged and followed her, his crossbow loading with a click. When they reached the room, Gunn readied to kick in the door. Wesley stopped him by turning the handle and pushing the door open, with the simple explanation of "Why would a vampire use locks?"   
  
The only occupant of the room was lying on the bed, her blond hair sprayed out over the pillows with blood-covered sheets tangled around her. Cordy put her hands over her mouth in shock, and whispered one word "Darla!"   
  
Gunn asked, entering the room slowly, his crossbow loaded and in front of him. "Is she dead?" he circled the room, carefully staying away from the bed.   
  
Wesley stated, "She's a vampire, remember…" he stayed in the doorway warily, "I won't be the one checking her pulse."   
  
Gunn questioned, not wanting to move too near the bed. "Shouldn't we open the curtains?"   
  
Cordy shook her head "But what if Angel comes in or something?"   
  
Finally, Wesley and Cordy cautiously entered the room, their eyes locked on the figure in the bed. The door closed behind them with a click and they spun around… nobody was there. Gunn stated quickly "Look, dead or undead. I don't want to be locked in a room with that thing."   
  
"My name is Darla."   
  
The group once again spun around, to find Darla standing in front of the bed, the blood stained sheet casually wrapped around her form. Gunn aimed the crossbow level to her heart "Don't move, demon."   
  
Cordy turned around and tried the door, finding it most definitely locked. Darla laughed, "Ooh, locked in a room with me, how terrifying!"   
  
Wesley whispered to Gunn "I think it's safe to assume she's a bad guy, Gunn."   
  
Gunn nodded and pulled the trigger; at the same moment, Darla moved up and grabbed his hand twisting the weapon up, so it shot into the ceiling. Darla let go, snapping the crossbow in half before taking a step back. "I wouldn't be trying anything, if I were you. After all, the party's just getting started, right my precious?"   
  
A voice behind them announced darkly "That's right, darlin."   
  
Only Cordy dared to turn around, coming face-to-face with Angelus, clad only in black leather pants. "Oh, god, no, Angel!"   
  
Angelus stalked around them, Cordy following his every move, before he came to stand beside Darla. "Oh, come now. Don't tell me you expected to find me unprepared for your arrival?" he paused long enough to wrap an arm around Darla's bare shoulders. "Or without my sire?"   
  
Darla laughed at the shocked expressions on all their faces. "Angelus and I led a massacre through Europe for a hundred and fifty years… Did you think my plans to bring my childe back to me were so futile?" she stopped to stroke Angelus' cheek. "But enough talk, darling boy. Deal with them."   
  
In a blink of an eye, Angelus punched Gunn, Wesley, and Cordy hard enough to knock them out without doing major damage. After all, what would be the point of causing them pain when they wouldn't feel the maximum extent of it?   
  


.-~*~-.

  
  
The first thing that Cordy was really aware of was that she had a throbbing headache. Slowly, as consciousness returned to her, Cordy became aware that she was chained up, and then it all came flooding back to her; the room, Darla, Angelus… She quickly decided to pretend to still be asleep. Angelus' voice easily cut through her headache like a knife, "Now that everyone's awake, I think it's time we played a little game."   
  
Darla's laughter eerily reminded Cordy of a child, clapping her hands and bouncing on her toes, having just been given a treat. Cordy tried to get rid of the ridiculous image, but simply couldn't resist opening her eyes to see.   
  
Darla lounged on a couch; manacles on her wrists and her long, red, dress askew. She did look pleased but also sated, and other then that Cordy had been all off.   
  
Angelus moved to stand behind Darla; he reached over and undid the chains, massaging her wrists. Darla's hands snaked up and she twisted around, pulling his head down to hers for a long kiss.   
  
Cordy half-heartedly hoped that Darla was suffocating, before she remembered that _duh_, vampires don't breathe. "Okay, that's just… eww!"   
  
Angelus shifted out of his sire's grasp and grinned at his captives. "My sire's much better at torture," he paused for a moment to hand Darla a mean looking knife. "She did teach me almost everything."   
  
Darla rose to her feet, straightening her dress with her free hand, and took long strides towards their captives. She stopped at Wesley first, and ran the blade under his chin, watching the little red welts that followed the knife trail. Keeping her human mask, she bent her head to lick the blood welling from his throat, listening to his startled whimpers. Darla lifted her head and announced, "Tastes a little too salty, I think."   
  
She slipped away from him, laughing as he tried to make out words behind his gag, and pressed her body flush against Gunn's, rubbing against him subtly, "Mmm, I think you'll taste better…"   
  
Gunn spat at her, and struggled with his blindfold, "Get away from me, whore."   
  
Darla wiped the spit off her arm as though it burned, as her gaze turned steely. "You'll pay for that."   
  
She cupped his cheeks in her hand, bending his head and stood on her tiptoes, forcing his mouth to hers in a brutal and punishing kiss. Pulling his tongue into her mouth, she bit down with blunt teeth; hard enough to take a large chunk out of his it, which she pushed back into his mouth. Darla sucked at the blood flowing from the wound, Gameface never appearing, even though her eyes flashed saffron.   
  
Angelus felt himself grinning, he knew that kiss well; it hurt like hell. '_Of course,_' he reasoned, '_she's had enough time to practice._'   
  
Finally, Darla pulled away, swallowing the rest of the blood in her mouth, and wiping at the blood that had dribbled down her chin with her free hand. "Mmm," she laughed as Gunn squirmed, "what's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"   
  
He spat out blood and that chunk of his tongue and made strangled gurgling noises of pain and disgust. Cordelia and Wesley turned away in revulsion. Cordelia looked about ready to faint, "Oh, god."   
  
Angelus smiled at Darla, refraining the urge to pull her to him and kiss her just as brutally. "What about Cordy, darlin?"   
  
Darla moved to the next spot, where Cordy was chained, slashing open the top of her shirt and placing the point of the knife against her bare chest, where every time Cordy took a breath in the tip dug deeper in her skin. Darla leaned close and whispered against Cordy's ear, "I would like to reach into your skin with my bare hand and pull out your beating heart…" she paused to lick her lips and wink at Angelus, "but then there's plenty of time for that, why rush the inevitable?"   
  
She twisted the knife a little for good measure, enjoying the gasp that slipped through Cordelia's pursed lips. Darla pulled the knife back, and lifted it up to where her captive's hand was chained. She thinly sliced one of Cordelia's fingertips and let the blood drip down to her waiting palm. Tasting the blood she announced, "Too sweet," Darla took a step back and addressed Angelus, "Why don't you taste them, precious, and then the fun can begin."   
  
Angelus picked up another dagger and stepped up to Wesley, who was still trying not to look at Gunn. "Oh, yeah, this'll be fun."   
  


.-~*~-.

  
  
When the screams finally ceased, it was not because of impending daylight, not because of the deaths of captives or captors, not from lack of inventive torture methods, and not from ineffective torture.   
  
It was boredom. Well, that and the fact Angelus had made some perfect incisions into the throat, stopping the victim's ability for speech.   
  
Darla and Angelus hadn't particularly been expecting their group of prisoners, they had been prepared, but that was mostly out of caution. The fact was, neither had a grudge against any of the imprisoned group that reasoned torture for more then twenty-four hours.   
  
'_Torture is fun, to a point, then it's just overkill. Pun intended._' Darla mused, idly twisting the blade of a dagger into her palm and watching the red well up around the metal. "Precious," she motioned to the blood covered bodies hanging weakly from chains, "do you suppose we should get it over with?"   
  
Angelus looked up from where he had been carving vampiric symbols into Cordelia's exposed thigh, and spared his sire a questioning glance before resuming his pastime. "Are you bored, darlin?"   
  
Darla tugged absently at one of the metal bars spearing Wesley's palms, eliciting a strangled gurgle of discomfort from the former Watcher. "Of course not," she let the dagger drop from her hand and moved towards Gunn, eyeing him up and down. Blood covered, in excruciating pain, and unable to voice any protest, just the way she liked her captives. "It's just, if we're going to kill them, we'll have to do it soon or the effect will be lost."   
  
Angelus saw Darla slide over to Gunn out of the corner of his eye, recognizing that she was deeply enjoying the mental torture she inflected upon the man. "I don't know, darlin," he grinned wickedly up at a teary-eyed Cordelia, "I was thinking we let them back into the herd."   
  
"Mmm," Darla rested her body against Gunn's; knowing the pain it caused him, enjoying the look of fear in the once powerful man's eyes. Broken, she liked them broken; of course, after they broke she usually killed them, weak creatures. "Is that why you're carving up the pretty one so? Well, I suppose, so long as I get to keep this one. He might be fun to play with for a couple centuries."   
  
Angelus turned to look at his sire square on, trying to determine if she was joking or serious. After a moment of appraising her mood and manors, Angelus decided it was neither; Darla was playing more mind games. '_Who am I to let her captive in on that little secret,_' Angelus thought as he turned back to a wildly squirming Cordelia. "Tis fine with me, Darla."   
  
Darla settled flashing eyes on Gunn as she took in her lover's response, noticing the man once again struggling, for all it was worth. "And what do you think, Charles?" she ran her hand over his throat in a sickeningly sweet gesture, "What would you say to that, if you could still speak?"   
  
The deep voice of Angelus boomed out from the corner conversationally, "I can tell what he'd say from here, darlin."   
  
Her eyes stared straight into Gunn's, unblinking, flashing with the promises of things that could come in centuries unexplored. "Oh, yes, I see it now. The stunning righteousness, even in the face of death and torment, virtue and morality for all the poor souls that would suffer." She took a deep breath, breathing in the sent of pain and fear all over the man, "But you would taste so good, wouldn't you? Such a shame you can't tell me not to turn you… I might have listened if you could."   
  
Her bubbly laughter echoed throughout the room and was soon joined by Angelus' deeper mirth, leaving the human's in the room only guessing at what was to come next. Finally, Darla pulled away from Gunn with a sigh, moving towards Wesley and yanking out the spears embedded in his body with a heartless tug. Flinging herself carelessly back upon the couch, she announced, "Angelus, take them all down from there, will you? I want to get packing, it's time to finish some plans, precious."   
  
Angelus set his knife down and snapped Cordelia's chains with a flick of his wrist; enjoying her gasp when he caught her roughly, some of her closed wounds reopening. Moving quickly across the room, he dropped Cordelia below her friends, on her head, and grinned as she blacked out. Without removing the males' chains, Angelus knocked them out each with a swift punch. Turning back to Darla he considered his options, "I was thinking I'd ship Wesley to Faith, and Cordelia to the Scooby Gang, can't quite figure out where to put Gunn, though."   
  
Darla raised an eyebrow in vague amusement as she got up and began to ascend the stairs, sparing a brief glance at the wounded bodies. "Leave them, lover, a package is so impersonal. I'd much rather discuss the details of persecuting the Slayer in person."   
  
A wicked grin crossed Angelus' face as he raced up the stairs to his sire, pulling her into a brutal kiss, "In person, then, darlin."   
  


.-~*~-.

  
  
Sunlight streaming through broken windows and a cold wind whipping around her naked body woke Cordelia. Her first instinct was to move, but the pain that caused made her scream out. Except no sound broke the silence of the room, no sound came out of her throat.   
  
Looking frantically around, even with limited movement, Cordelia found herself dumped on the floor, a floor covered in blood and littered with torture devices. Straining her head upwards, Cordy saw her two male companions, still strung up and apparently still out cold. The seer couldn't help but flinch when she got her first good look at their injuries, since she had been moved away from them early in the previous night. '_Or was it two nights ago? Ohhhh,_' even thoughts in her head hurt.   
  
Cordy was just trying to figure out where her captors might be hiding this time, when she noticed a message scrolled on the walls in blood, with very intricate writing. '_And so the moon shall have an epiphany, a different epiphany, and she shall destroy through the night, making the world her own. So when the sun does rise, it is too late, and the whirlwind has passed through the night, slaughter and mayhem reign. Feel the whirlwind?_'   
  
A moan echoed through her head at the eccentric message undoubtedly left by the blonde vampiress. The fancy curling script was the first indication, even scrawled in blood it was definitely feminine, but the sheer insanity of the message was all Darla, and Cordy found herself wondering if maybe Darla had spent too much time with Drusilla in the past. She recognized that it was irony and the effort of making a point she was sure not to miss, but surely, it could have been done in a less dramatic way.   
  
All the thought required to read the message left Cordy's head aching and a sigh filtered through her mind as she remembered hearing the two vampires discussing Sunnydale and the Slayer the previous night. She felt a sting of emotion at the thought at what was planned for her friends, but right now, her own existence was first in her thoughts.   
  
They were alone, left to fend for themselves, survival a very unlikely outcome. And the Scooby Gang had no clue what was coming their way, the whirlwind in the night that was sure to destroy them. A vision rocked Cordy's head as she saw the destruction and mayhem that was to reign in Sunnydale, saw the full moon rise high in the sky, and the seas bathed in red.   
  
And when Cordelia blacked out from the pain of the vision, this time was the last, finally giving her broken body a respite from the world, and allowing her battered soul to take up its place in oblivion.   
  


The End


End file.
